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The best players to wear every jersey number in Penguins history

There are two reasons to read this.

One: It’ll make for fun arguments, even if they’re only with yourself. I had a few of those while I wrote it.

Two: The Penguins — and this is a lab-tested, gold-plated fact — attract more random players than any other NHL team. It’s part of the franchise’s DNA. It’s part of its history. You shouldn’t need an excuse to remember some guys, but you’re getting one. This is it. It’s a Random Penguin Generator.

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That said, Mark Donk and Buzz Flibbet did not make the list. Off we go.

1 — Johan Hedberg (2001-03)

It’s a goalie number. In most cases, it’s a backup goalie number, and it has been consistently since 2003. Start with Casey DeSmith and go backward, and you’ll hit Mike Condon, Thomas Greiss, Brent Johnson, John Curry … and then Hedberg. He spent parts of three seasons as a starter, but that’s not what gets him the edge over Dennis Herron, who had 290 above-average games in net spread over a decade. Nothing he did, though, tops the 2001 playoffs, when Hedberg went from “who is this guy?” to the local hero. When your nickname turns into a chant, and then an arena giveaway, you earn all future tiebreakers.

“Everyone wants something to be grateful for in the playoffs,” Hedberg told reporters doing the run, “and this time it happens to be me.”

Honorable mentions: Herron, Jim Rutherford, Peter Skudra

2 — Matt Niskanen (2011-2014)

The 90s nostalgist in me wants to give it Chris Tamer; the realist knows that Niskanen is the only choice. We knew he was the Stars defenseman who fought Sidney Crosby. We thought he was a leftover in the James Neal-Alex Goligoski deal in 2011. Turns out, he was the guy who’d play his way into a $40 million contract with the Caps, and deserve it. “Money Matt,” indeed.

Honorable mention: Hal Gill

3 — Ron Stackhouse (1973-82)

He might not have been the best defenseman in franchise history, but he certainly was the biggest offensive threat until Paul Coffey came along, setting the franchise record for points by the position. Stackhouse took what seems like an undue amount of criticism for perceived softness in his game, but 342 points in 621 games — both third among d-men in franchise history — gets him the nod here, if nothing else.

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Honorable mention: Olli Maatta

4 — Dave Burrows (1971-78)

Part of the reason Stackhouse got the treatment he did had to be the presence of Burrows. Textbook stay-at-home defenseman, if that’s your thing, and a two-time All-Star. Burrows was a fan favorite, and he’s an important part of franchise history. He’s the answer to the question, “What if Brian Dumoulin played in the 70s?”

Honorable mention: Rob Scuderi

5 — Ulf Samuelsson (1990-95)

Fun Ulf Samuelsson fact: He was once called “the lowest form of human being,” in the New York Times. “I wouldn’t want him on my team. He has no honor.” The man saying that? Don Cherry. Imagine a hard-hitting, dirty defenseman. For a full generation of hockey fans, he’s who comes to mind. It’s caveman-brained, but there’s currency in that. Another fun Ulf Samuelsson fact: He didn’t play five full seasons in Pittsburgh. Feels like he was here forever. (If you have time to kill, bookmark that NYT story. It’s delightful.)

6 — Trevor Daley (2015-2017)

We’re on track for John Marino to take over this spot sometime in the fall, but for now, it’s Daley’s, and it’s deserved. No player symbolizes the midseason lane shift in 2015 more than he does; on Dec. 12, Jim Rutherford swapped Mike Johnston for Mike Sullivan. Two days later, it was Rob Scuderi for Daley. A few months later, a much faster team had won the Stanley Cup, and Daley was taking the first handoff from Sidney Crosby.

Honorable mentions: Ben Lovejoy; Bob Boughner; Marino

7 — Joe Mullen (1990-97)

Just one of the very best American players of all time. He was the first to score 500 goals and total 1,000 points, and there might be no 1991 Stanley Cup without him. Also, in 2003, I spilled nacho cheese on him in a Mellon Arena elevator. This is the least I could do.

Honorable mention: Matt Cullen

8 — Mark Recchi (1988-92, 2005-06, ’07)

This is one of the tougher calls of the whole exercise — Dumoulin is knocking on the door — but Recchi has to be the pick. Who led the 1990-91 Penguins in scoring? Yep — Recchi, with 113 points. In the playoffs, Mario Lemieux took over and bumped him all the way down to second. It doesn’t matter that his first run with the organization was short; it was that good. By the time his career was over, he’d scored more points than all but 11 other players in NHL history. Winning another Cup here as an assistant doesn’t hurt.

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Honorable mention: Dumoulin

9 — Pascal Dupuis (2008-06)

And this is one of the easier ones. All due respect to German Titov and Rico Fata, but Dupuis road shotgun with Crosby for too long, scored too many goals and meant too much to the the organization to be anything but the choice In 2015, after blood clots finally forced Dupuis into retirement, Crosby was asked to talk about what Dupuis meant to him as a player and person. “I dunno if I could get through it,” he said. “I’m gonna miss him a lot.”

Honorable mentions: Mark Johnson; Ron Francis for a game, apparently.

10 — Ron Francis (1991-1998)

What a brutal break for Pierre Larouche; you’d think that holding the Penguins’ single-season goal record for a few years would be enough. Against “Ronnie Franchise,” it’s isn’t. I’m still shocked, by the way, that Josh Yohe had Francis/Samuelsson/Grant Jennings trade at No. 2 on his November list.

Honorable mention: Larouche

11 — Jordan Staal (2006-2012)

A month ago, I’d have put Darius Kasparaitis in this spot. There are plenty of reasons for that, most of the owing to the fact that I watched him as a child; that Game 7 goal against the Sabres went a long way. And then, I rewatched Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup. I’m not sure the Penguins win that without Staal. I’m also not sure they’d have played it without him. An absolute monster, and a guy who played fewer games for the Penguins than Kasparaitis … but just barely. He didn’t have a line of pickles named after him, but nobody’s perfect.

Honorable mention: Kasparaitis

12 — The Malones

Bob Errey is getting shafted here — he was an alternate captain on two Stanley Cup champs — but there’s something cool about Greg and Ryan Malone wearing the same number. The father had seven nice seasons in the 70s and 80s and was responsible for a) the architecture of those Errey teams, as head scout and b) the existence of his son, a five-time 20-goal scorer and the bridge between the X-Generation and the 2009 champs. Plus Ryan is from here. It’s worth noting.

Honorable mention: Errey

13 — Bill Guerin (2009-10)

If you doubted that hockey players are superstitious, seven Penguins have worn No. 13. No other un-retired jersey from 1-30 is at less than 14. Add that to Bill Guerin’s accomplishments as a player in Pittsburgh; got Sidney Crosby to loosen up; scored a bunch of big goals; won a Stanley Cup; made No. 13 safe to wear again. Who knows — maybe there’s no Nick Bonino without him.

Honorable mention: Bonino

14 — Chris Kunitz (2009-2017)

It’s the Crosby rule; he’s not easy to play with, but if you can handle it long term, you end up on this list. Not a coincidence, and when it’s all said and done, very, very few will have been better at it than Kunitz. Watching him peak as a 34-year-old in 2013-14, with 35 goals, was fun.

Honorable mentions: Doug Shedden; Stu Barnes

15  — Randy Cunneyworth (1985-1989)

One of the early important Lemieux supporting cast members, Cunneyworth finished third on the team in scoring in four seasons. The Penguins moved him in 1989 to Winnipeg as part of a six-player trade that didn’t accomplish much for anyone.

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Honorable mention: Shawn McEachern

16 — Jay Caufield (1988-93)

It’s one of the funniest numbers on the books; 31 players have worn it, but none have distinguished themselves all that much. Derek Sanderson was at the end of the line. Joe Dziedzic had an OK run. Erik Christensen was a shootout specialist and not much more. Chris Conner, Cal O’Reilly, Brandon Sutter … now Jason Zucker. Jury’s out there. Caufield gets it. Winning titles and training The Big Boy pays off.

17 — Rick Kehoe (1974-85)

All due respect to Bryan Rust, but this is a no-brainer. Kehoe is the best pre-Lemieux player in franchise history and still fifth all-time in points with 636. Plus, the Lady Byng trophy he won in 1980 counts as an early highlight. Coincidentally, he spent his first few years in Pittsburgh wearing No. 8 on some decent teams, behind another pretty good No. 17, Ron Schock.

Honorable mentions: Rust, Schock

18 — Lowell MacDonald (1970-78)

Like Kehoe and Shock, MacDonald was a big part of the mid-70s Penguins. He was also part of the Century Line with Syl Apps and Jean Pronovost. The three combined for 100 goals in 1972-73 — MacDonald won the Masterton after the season — and kept it going for a couple more. “We used to bump into each other more than anyone would bump us,” MacDonald told Joe Starkey in “Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins Locker Room.” They’re important parts of the club’s early history.

Honorable mentions: James Neal, Marian Hossa, Craig Simpson

19 — Jean Pronovost (1968-78)

We’ll just keep the Century Line theme rolling. Pronovost, in 1975, became the first Penguin to score 50 goals and top 100 points. He had other 40-goal seasons and scored less than 20 just once in 10 years with the Penguins. Not bad for a guy acquired from Boston for a pick that became Frank Spring; Spring wound up playing 61 NHL games and just one for the Bruins. There probably was an argument to be made a decade or three ago for No. 19 to be retired.

Honorable mention: Bryan Trottier

20 — Robert Lang (1997-2002)

One of the more underrated players in the recent history of the franchise. It could be because he looked like Jaromir Jagr’s brother. It could’ve been because he was the least flashy part of the KLS line (with Alexei Kovalev and Martin Straka). Either way, the guy has one of the quieter 80-point seasons on record. Also. it’s not fully relevant here, but it’s worth saying all the same: in 2004, the Caps traded him to Detroit while he was leading the NHL in points, with 74, and he immediately broke a rib. Detroit’s haul ended up being Mike Green and Tomas Fleischmann. So, in some alternate universe, Robert Lang has an Art Ross Trophy, and the early years of Crosby/Ovechkin are a lot different.

Honorable mentions: Moe Mantha; Luc Robitaille; Colby Armstrong

21 — Michel Brière (1971)

Anything worth saying about Brière is in this, from Stephen Nesbitt.

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22 — Mike Bullard (1980-1987)

Bullard’s career was bizarre. He was a first-round pick who scored 183 goals in his first six seasons on some putrid teams, including 51 in 1982-83 as a 22-year-old … none of which was a game-winner. In November 1986, he was thrown out of practice by coach Bob Berry and traded to Calgary for Dan Quinn. Terry Ruskowski took over the Penguins captaincy, which he held for the remainder of the season. The next fall, Lemieux took over. Anyway, Bullard was pretty good.

Honorable mention: Rick Tocchet (Take I)

23 — Randy Hillier (1985-91)

It’s the most frequently worn number in team history. No one wore it longer or better than Hillier, another holdover from early-era Lemieux who contributed to the first Cup team.

Honorable mention: Scott Wilson

24 — Matt Cooke (2008-13)

Five seasons of 15-goal play, most of which he spent on a line with Staal and Kennedy, and a crucial role in the 2009 Cup are enough to get Cooke here. As always, mentions of him come with the double asterisk: he injured a lot of opponents with dirty play and he somehow managed to change midstream. Either way, the fanbase loved him. “It’s a very blue-collar town, a very hard-working city and they love their sports there. I was fortunate to win a Cup there,” he said while playing with Minnesota in 2014. “I think anybody that’s done that there is an icon in that city and will be for the rest of their lives.”

Honorable mentions: Troy Loney (1987-93); Ian Moran (1995-2003)

25 — Kevin Stevens (1988-95)

One of the more stacked numbers on the list. Behind Stevens you’ve got the only Norris winner in franchise history, and the guy who scored both goals in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. His late-era fall and rise are well (and aptly) documented, which has made it a little easy to lose sight of how good he was. You could argue that the Penguins haven’t had a player like Stevens, before or since.

Honorable mentions: Randy Carlyle, Max Talbot

26 — Syl Apps (1970-78)

The third member of the Century Line deserves a quote of his own.  “Lowell and I couldn’t shoot the puck any more than 15 feet,” he said. “That’s why we did a lot of the passing.” He held on to the puck enough to have four straight seasons of at least 24 goals.

27 — Alexei Kovalev (1998-2003)

“He’s the best stickhandler I’ve ever seen. Quickness. Hands. A much better stickhandler than me,” Lemieux told Sports Illustrated in 2003. From that same story: “How do painters come up with ideas?” Kovalev asked rhetorically as he picked at a chicken Caesar salad one recent afternoon. “Maybe something comes into their heads, and they think about it, and that’s what they end up painting. Same thing with me. Something comes into my head, and I’ll try it. It looks funny and unreal at first, but then you keep doing it, and it becomes easier.” One of the most aesthetically pleasing hockey players all time. An absolute no-brainer in this spot.

28 — Ian Cole (2015-2018)

The end for Cole in Pittsburgh was silly; his relationship with Mike Sullivan was a strange subplot to the 2017-18 season, and he was a healthy scratch for much of his last few months with the team. Before that, he was a key part to two Cup winners and beloved by teammates. He also was a great quote, which explains at least part of his exit. Nice guy, blocked shots, loved the game.

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Honorable mention: Gordie Roberts

29 — Marc-Andre Fleury (2003-2017)

His arc in Pittsburgh — a peak, then a valley, then two more Stanley Cups, then an expansion draft-necessitated exit — is interesting and impressive enough. I’ve come to think over the last few years, though, that he’s the single most beloved player in franchise history. Yes, more than Lemieux. Yes, more than Crosby. There’s something about the connection he made with this fanbase that transcends production. If nothing else, it’s a testament to decency and charisma — and there are worse things. Might as well mothball the jersey.

Honorable mention: Phil Bourque

30 — Matt Murray (2015-present)

Forget the Vegas expansion draft. Forget what’s happened since 2017. The Penguins, full stop, do not win the 2016 Stanley Cup without Matt Murray, and they probably wouldn’t have won the following season, either. Let’s move on.

Honorable mention: Les Binkley

31 — Ken Wregget (1991-97)

A 1992 Cup winner and a reliable option behind Tom Barrasso (and, at times, as a starter himself), Wregget was the platonic ideal of a backup goalie. He was good enough to start, as he often needed to, and the fanbase loved him. “I don’t know what it is about this place, but I’ve just always loved it here and have always loved the people in this town,” he recently told Josh Yohe. “I still remember getting to know the fans when they were asking for autographs when I got here. I wasn’t Mario Lemieux or anything, but I signed for some people and I just immediately liked it here, liked the people. And I just wanted to be a part of it here.”

32 — Dick Tarnstrom (2002-06)

Just following the rulebook: “If a Swedish defenseman is the leading scorer for the worst hockey team you’ve ever watched in person, you honor his number 16 years later.”

33 — Zarley Zalapski (1987-1991)

He had a few decent seasons after the Penguins picked him fourth overall in 1987, and without him there’s no Francis/Samuelsson trade. That’s a major contribution. Also, 33, for whatever reason, just doesn’t seem like a hockey number. It’s certainly not a Penguins number; no player wore it longer than Zalapski. The most memorable guy this century has been Ziggy Palffy, and he was a Penguin for an hour and a half. Maybe he wore it on his plane ride back the Czech Republic.

34 — Tom Kuhnhackl (2016-2018)

This is another rough one. It’s somehow an AHL call-up number. Of the 19 players who’ve worn it, a grand total of two have stuck with it for more than a year — and only one is a two-time Stanley Cup champ. Congratulations to the entire Kuhnhackl family.

35 — Tom Barrasso (1989-2000)

There are a few reasons Barrasso’s contributions to the 1991 and ’92 Cup teams feels increasingly lost to history, but they shouldn’t be. He still holds the NHL record for consecutive playoffs wins, with 14. Yes, he was overshadowed by Lemieux and Co. Yes, injuries derailed his career for several seasons. No, he was not a particularly nice man. He’s an important Penguin, though.

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36 — Matthew Barnaby (1999-2001)

Barnaby only played 129 games with Pittsburgh, which boggles the mind. They were memorable.

Honorable mention: Jussi Jokinen

37 — Kip Miller (1999-2001)

A hallmark of Penguins history: sticking great players next to mediocre ones. If someone asked me last week to name a Jaromir Jagr linemate, I’d have said “Kip Miller.” That shouldn’t be true, but it is. Either way, Miller had 42 points playing with Jaromir Jagr in 1999-2000. Jagr liked him, and the KLS line was humming, so why mess around? It makes sense; Miller was smart enough to set up Jagr and get out of the way. “He’ll let you know when he wants it,” Miller told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1999. “You give it to him, and you go, and you get it back.” It worked well enough that Jagr and Miller played together later in Washington. (Sam Lafferty may have a claim on No. 37 down the road.)

38 — Jan Hrdina (1998-2003)

Hey, it’s the other guy from that line. You could pencil Hrdina in for around 50 points and solid defense, and he was one of the last of the Jagr-era guys on the roster. Out he went, and in came the X-Generation. Also, my dad thought for years that Jan Hrdina was the son of Jiri Hrdina, the early Jagr mentor. He wasn’t. Coincidentally, though, both wore No. 38.

39 — Luca Caputi (2010)

Why? Great question. First, a total of nine players have worn 39. The longest anyone lasted in it was Mike Needham in 1993-94, and he only played 25 games. David Perron wore it after a midseason trade in 2015, then dumped it for 57. So, who cares. It’s going to Caputi, who spent some time in the aughts as the toast of Penguins message boards. What else could you want?

40 — Frank Pietrangelo (1988-92) 

I was 11 years old in 1997 when Patrick Lalime started his career 14-0-2, and I don’t remember “The Save,” so this was a tough personal choice. I must, however, put childish things aside. Pietrangelo made 25 starts in 1990-91 before, in all likelihood, altering the course of the franchise. That’s enough. “Sometimes, I tell someone to just go Google ‘The Save,’” Pietrangelo told NHL.com in 2017, “and they’ll say, ‘With your name?’ and I say, ‘No, just ‘The Save,’ and it’s kind of funny what comes up.”

41 — Robert Bortuzzo (2012-2015)

The Bortuzzo-Beau Bennett friendship needs to be memorialized somewhere. Plus, the Bortuzzo trade tree is fruitful; he was traded for Cole, who was traded for Derick Brassard, who was traded for Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad. The straw-grasping has begun.

Honorable mention: Jocelyn Thibault, Daniel Sprong

42 — Dylan Reese (2013)

Five players have worn 42: Tuomas Gronman in 1998; Dustin Jeffrey in 2009; Nick Johnson in 2010; Corey Potter in 2011; Reese in 2013. Only one of them went to Upper St. Clair.

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43 — Conor Sheary (2015-2018; 2020)

He was assigned No. 43 during a tryout in 2014, stuck with it when the Penguins called him up, didn’t change it when he stuck in the NHL (or after he was integral to a couple of Stanley Cup wins) and then asked for it again when the team reacquired him February. About what you’d expect from a guy who didn’t bother correcting the pronunciation of his name for several years.

44 — Brooks Orpik (2004-14)

What would have happened if Orpik stuck with 29? He wore it during a pre-Fleury call-up. Is either player’s career the same? Does the franchise get stuck on two Stanley Cups? There’s simply no way to say. Orpik wearing a different number during that shift against the Red Wings would’ve been weird if nothing else.

Honorable mention: Rob Brown

45 — Arron Asham (2010-2012)

Someday, Asham will write his autobiography, and the world will change. A true madman. Those two years felt like forever. (Footnote: This was the first of three numbers Scuderi wore with the Penguins. I have no recollection of it.)

46 — Zach Aston-Reese (2018-present)

All due respect to Joe Vitale, but Aston-Reese’s pivot into Selke-peripheral play this season was something to behold.

47 — Simon Despres (2012-2015)

He was a first-round pick that never quite secured a long-term spot with the Penguins, then had his career derailed by a concussion — but not before the Penguins sent him to Anaheim to bring back Ben Lovejoy. (Eight players here, and there are some doozies. Maxim Galanov! Micki DuPont!)

48 — Tyler Kennedy (2008-2013)

Two other players have worn 48, so there was no real competition for Kennedy, but he’d have led a larger field. One rule of this exercise: if you were on the Penguins’ third line in 2009, you win. Kennedy followed that with a 21-goal season. A no-brainer.

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49 — Brian Gibbons (2013)

Dominik Simon dumped it for a real number, so this goes to Gibbons, who somehow only played 49 games (regular and postseason) with the Penguins. It felt like more. Maybe that’s how it works when you score one of your seven goals on your first shot. Maybe it isn’t. I dunno.

50 — Juuso Riikola (2019-2020)

To the best of our knowledge, he remains on the roster. Condolences to second/last-place finisher Martin Brochu.

51 —Derrick Pouliot (2015-2017)

He’s 26 now, which makes me feel like taking a nap. On one hand, it felt like the 2011 first-rounder got lost in the Shero/Rutherford regime change. On the other, he had a series of shots, including with the Canucks after the Penguins dumped him for Andrey Pedan and a pick. So it goes. Condolences to second/last-place finisher Dave Roche, whose autograph is on a program somewhere in my mom’s house.

52 — Rusty Fitzgerald (1995-96)

Fitzgerald played 21 of his 25 games with the Penguins wearing 52 and had three of his four points in it. Nobody has worn it before or since. Salute to a legend.

53 — Teddy Blueger (2018-present)

“I have no idea why I got 53. I was 23 in college, and I couldn’t wear 23 here right away, so I’m guessing they matched up the threes. I don’t know. That’s the only thing I can think of.” Thanks, Teddy. He’s the only guy who’s worn it.

54 — Alexandre Picard (2012)

Condolences to second/last-place finisher Thomas Di Pauli.

55 — Sergei Gonchar (2006-10)

The parallels between Gonchar and Larry Murphy are undeniable; both were established stars before landing in Pittsburgh, both played leading roles on Cup runs and both had productive years after they left. But man, Gonchar was asked to do a lot for those four years; he ran a power play, played against top competition, got some Norris Votes and mentored Evgeni Malkin. It’s tough to go against that.

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Honorable mention: Murphy

56 — Sergei Zubov (1995-96)

In 64 games with the Penguins, Zubov had 66 points. He was a defenseman, and a power-play specialist, and he did not mesh with Mario Lemieux — or maybe he just wasn’t defensive enough for the Penguins’ taste — and thus he was sent to Dallas for Kevin Hatcher. If that trade never happens, does he have his Hall of Fame career here, rather than with the Stars? Maybe, maybe not — but it’s one of the bigger what-ifs in franchise history. Condolences to second/last-place finisher Eric Tangradi, who wore 56 as a call-up in 2010.

57 — Marcel Goc (2014-2015)

Now it’s time to start flipping coins. On one side, David Perron, who scored four goals in the number then was traded; on the other, Marcel Goc, who was … Marcel Goc. The winner is Marcel Goc. A year from now, Anthony Angello could be within shouting distance.

58 — Kris Letang (2007-2020)

I wish we could all agree that he’s the best defenseman in franchise history and move along, but that’s not going to work. So, it’s a weird hockey number that went unworn for 40 years before him, and it’ll be easy to retire.

59 — Jake Guentzel (2017-20)

The dangers of being very good, very quickly: Guentzel was assigned 59 in camp, then stuck with it, and before he could change it, he’d already started building his rep as one of the most productive playoff performers of all time. A lot of 59 jerseys have been sold. He’s going to be around a while. It’s probably too late to switch.

60 — Emil Larmi (2020)

It’d be cool if Larmi made it to the NHL on a full-time basis, rather than as an emergency call-up, and wore No. 60 full time. Nobody else ever has.

61  — Steven Oleksy (2017)

Here’s Oleksy’s competition: Caputi, so we can’t reuse that joke; and Sergei Plotnikov, who was a brief but intense object of scorn. Oleksy played a bit on a Cup team, and he’s a nice guy. Easy enough.

62 — Carl Hagelin (2016-2019)

Nobody else has worn 62, but it’s still a good opportunity to point out that Carl Hagelin was really fast and really good.

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63 — Tim Wallace (2009)

No competition for Wallace, who played hard and fought some guys while wearing 63 for 16 games in 2008-09.

65 — Ron Hainsey (2017)

Beating out the call-up version of Ben Lovejoy is no problem for Hainsey, the No. 1 defenseman on a Stanley Cup-winning team. Still wild, still true.

66 — Doesn’t seem like anyone has ever worn it.

67Alex Goligoski (2008)

For about 15 minutes, Zygotal Alex Goligoski rocked the Kimo von Oelhoffen.

68Just read this instead.

71Just read this instead.

72Patric Hornqvist (2014-present)

Narrowly edging out the husk of Alexei Kovalev in 2010 is one of the most consequential acquisitions in Penguins history. Trading James Neal for Hornqvist was Rutherford’s first big move on the job, and it was one of the biggest. All the dude did was score a Cup-winning goal … in No. 72, which he wore instead of 27 because Craig Adams was still on the roster at the time of the trade.

73 — Jack Johnson (2018-19)

Matt Cullen’s return tour in No. 7 and Olli Matta’s control of No. 3 led to Johnson spending a season one of the weirdest defenseman numbers you’ll ever see.

75 — Ryan Reaves (2017-18)

That trade still doesn’t make sense.

77 — Just read this instead.

81 — Phil Kessel (2016-2019)

Something worth noting; the Penguins haven’t won a Stanley Cup without an 81 on the roster since 1992. First Miroslav Satan, then Kessel. Could be something, could be nothing.

82 — Martin Straka (1992-94; 1997-2003)

This brings us to 3-for-3 on the KLS line. No other Penguins have worn 82 — not that it matters. Straka’s career was really good, and really bizarre, featuring two separate stints in Pittsburgh, a gold medal in 1998, a couple of serious injuries, more than 700 NHL points and an extra decade in Europe. He retired from pro hockey in 2014 and recently took a job as an assistant coach with the Czech national team.

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85 — Petr Klima (1997)

Klima, a 30-goal threat with Detroit and Edmonton for a decade, was at the end of the line for his nine games with the Penguins. He wore No. 85 because he defected from the U.S.S.R. in, you guessed it, 1985. A wild story for a weird number, unless you’re a backup tight end.

87Just read this instead.

92 — Rick Tocchet (1992-94)

I wanted to give him both 22 and 92, if only as a joke, but Mike Bullard’s goal-scoring in the 80s was too good to ignore. This works out fine; Tocchet lifted a Cup wearing 92, anyway, and eventually switched back to it. Condolences to second/last-place finisher Tomas Vokoun.

93 — Petr Nedved (1995-97)

Just read this instead; I don’t think there’s a goal I remember more vividly. Does it matter that Nedved is the only 93 in franchise history? No. No it does not.

95 — Alexei Morozov (1997-2004)

Another one-player number — and another player worth singling out. Morozov’s time in Pittsburgh was disjointed and bizarre, but by the end of 2004, he seemed close to fully putting it together. The team was still horrendous, but they’d thrown together a string of home wins — including one over the Hurricanes on March 20 when Morozov scored a game-winning power-play goal, skated toward the glass, and popped the logo in celebration. “I was just trying to show the fans that we’re hot,” Morozov said afterward, via the AP. “It’s really fun to be here right now. There are a lot of good guys in the dressing room. Everybody is happy, everybody’s smiling.”

Forget that the team still finished with the worst record in the league, or that a lockout nuked the next season, or that Morozov left for the KHL and didn’t return. That’s a nice sentiment! That’s positive thinking! Keep that same energy!

(Top photo: Keith Srakocic / Associated Press)

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